Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
GroHappy has been a bit quiet for the last week or so not for lack of ideas or activities but because of them. Casa Keller has been a whirlwind of activity as we have been reclaiming our yard and replanting bulbs, shrubs, grass and trees. The septic men have left and with their departure came […]
Every time I tempt my family into the garden, I am often accused of inflicting horticultural therapy upon them. They may be right. My wife needs little prompting, as she better appreciates the diversity of plants than I and finds great solace in nature’s grasp. My daughters are a different story as when I have […]
With Labor Day a recent memory, we are now entering the days between the end of corporate summer and those of the calendar. These are teaser days on the cusp of seasons as they serve up cool nights promising of fall and warm hot afternoons reminding us of what we will soon be missing. Such […]
A recent cartoon in the New Yorker reminded me that the beach is usually not for gardening. You are surrounded by nature, but your reactions are muted by a type of voyeurism that says look but don’t touch. You are surprised by the lush inhabitants that flourish, grow and display themselves unambiguously for all to […]
One of the fundamental joys of gardening is to build a new bed. Sometimes its creation is part of a long thought out process, often started in the depths of winter, other times an opportunity or inspiration that presents itself in a serendipitous manner. In either case the new bed becomes a joy to start […]
As I mentioned in a prior post, we had planned to replace the pine in front of our house with a fir tree that was planted over a decade ago in memory of my mother-in-law, Stella. Watching men-in-trees remove huge limbs and drop the better part of a 75-foot pine makes for good tree TV […]
As I mentioned in my prior post, I will be growing a new lawn that will be simple to care for. But before the new lawn goes in, the old lawn and plantings of years past must go out. Or be trampled, crushed, mauled, etc. by the Kubota equivalent of WMDs. To preserve as much […]
As I mentioned in a prior post, my approach to lawn care is decidedly low-tech: manual reel mowers, scythes, etc. This slavish desire to follow a Luddite path, however, does not mean that I hate new technology but rather am a firm believer in the credo, “less is more.” Following along those lines, I have […]
Every tree displays its beauty differently. The American Chestnut’s magnificent canopy. The Sugar Maple’s autumn color. The stark bark of a Quaking Aspen or Himalayan white birch. One of my wife’s favorites is the white pine. It is a lovely tree that grows straight and fast with fragrant, long cones and soft fluffy needles. When […]
This summer’s incessant rains have been bad for many crops. Our strawberries matured as either red, flavorless mushy masses or tasteless slug bait. I expect the local crop of peaches to look more like inflated softballs and feel like a Nerf ball than they should when conditions are right. On the other hand, our raspberries […]